Discovering your shotgun partner can be a lifelong journey.Īlthough founded in 1866, Winchester Repeating Arms Company founder Oliver Winchester had years of involvement in the firearms industry. Shotgun pairings develop into almost romantic relationships, trusted companions and cherished soulmates alike. We measure time by our seasons in the field, firsts, lasts, bountiful, and empty alike become markers of past, present, and future. The partnership of an upland hunter and their shotgun often becomes one of adoration and spirit. The years that followed were the years that the Model 12 became his. The Winchester pump shotgun was a welcome home gift, purchased at the local hardware store, to my grandad from his father. Fulfilling his duty in 1960 at the age of 24, he took his place alongside his wife and his daughter, my mother, at home on the high plains of Kansas. Army in 1958, grandad served as a marksman on the Army’s BAR Rifle Team, with most of his time in Germany. After being drafted into the 1st Infantry Division of the U.S. It was a gift of pride, and no doubt one of thankfulness, extended past a lump in the throat to his reunited son. Grandad’s shotgun was a gift to him from his father. An American classic pump, this Winchester Model 12 is indeed that.
Winchester model 25 pump full#
My grandad’s Winchester 12-gauge shotgun with its fixed full choke and worn oil finish is a perfect example of pump action shotgun tradition. Like a well-worn favorite hat or a broken-in pair of boots, my shotgun this season was familiar and reliable. This turkey, this moment, wasn’t particularly exceptional, or more fantastic than any of the other amazing hunts I have enjoyed, except for the shotgun that I carried into the woods this spring. I had hunted and taken spring turkeys for years, but none like this, none with the promise of the fellowship of family, and pledge of tradition that this hunt brought. My eyes squinted into the late morning sun on the first day of May as I struggled to steady my hand and scratch my name across a filled turkey tag with a ballpoint pen. I have never had one loosen if handled carefully.From the iconic American pump shotgun, the Winchester Model 12, comes a legacy of hunting moving into the future They will loosen if the threads are not lubed with a good grease each time they are taken down. Those take up collars are scarcer than Triplelocks! There was a reason! Do not take a 12 apart more often than absolutely necessary. If you look on an old parts list for the 12, you will see that were at least six and maybe eight take up collars available, each with a range of adjustment for wear. The take down feature on pump guns is pretty much only used for cleaning, not for travel these days.
It was common to travel by train on hunting and trapshooting trips, and a take down was much more convenient to transport. If you think about takedown shotguns, bear in mind that when the 12 first came out, most shooters were used to doubles and singles, that were of course takedowns. For a brief time there was a Model 12 Lightweight version, that used a different take down design. A solid frame is a very good idea! The Model 97 was also made in take down and solid frame, although without different model numbers. Better to scant the cleaning, or clean from the muzzle than to take them apart often.
He told me that of the thousands of guns he had worked, far more had gotten loose from being taken apart for cleaning than ever showed any wear from shooting. One became a little loose, so I took it to the Grand to have Stu Wright, one of the premier M12 smiths, work on it. I shot a couple of older 12's at trap for quite a few years.